Page 73 of His to Have
I grinned. “I did. But like I told you, I know my wife.”
I didn’t visit the Reeds home often, but everything was just as I remembered — outside of the addition of the new three-car garage attached to the main house. Yanna and I stepped ontothe porch, and I watched her look through her small handbag, fishing for her parents’ house key before Bash swung the door wide, standing there with a lazy lean.
One palm pressed against the frame, while his sharp and assessing gaze flicked from me to his sister, clocking every detail like the overprotective nigga he’d always been. If you didn’t know these two, you’d assume he was the oldest.
Without saying a word, he pulled her into a brotherly hug, then asked, “How have you been holding up?”
“It’s been touch and go, but I’m managing,” she answered, rolling her shoulders.
He understood, because his ass had been managing as well. “Yeah, me too. Come on in, Ma been waitin’ on you.” He stepped to the side finally letting us both in beforedappingme up.
“She’s back there with pops,” he told her. “Let me holla at Teo for a minute.”
She gave her brother a quick nod, and me a small smile, already moving toward the familiar hallway. “I’ll be with Mama when y’all are finished,” she tossed over her shoulder, not sparing either of us a second glance.
She was already halfway down the hall when Bash’s tired eyes hit mine. “We gotta Gianni problem. That nigga been moving funny since the wedding. And the more I look into the days leading to the ceremony, the more this shit starts to smell foul as fuck.”
I nodded once, processing his words, walking deeper into the house, pausing at one of the rooms Bash often used as an office when we were younger. It was absent a desk, but it had all the other basic essentials — seating, bookcases, and a large table covered with papers and photographs. Bash motioned for me to take a seat, his expression growing more serious.
“And the bitch,” he damn near growled, “the next time I see her ass, I’m a put a bullet in her.”
Now that was something we both could agree on.
I knew Isabella was an opportunist but I didn’t think she would cross her own family to get me. Poisoning a room full of family members to gain control of her family’s assets while simultaneously starting a full-blown war between all the northern families was a bold move, even for her.
But now it all made so much sense. She found an alliance that would give her the muscle she needed. The attack at my wedding put every family on alert, including her father who lost all of his most loyal men. Tommy, his brother, being one of the men who was among them.
To my knowledge Gianni hadn’t even reached out to the Reeds. Which was telling.
If Gianni was really in control, he’d have made some kind of move—offered condolences, reached out to Antoinette,somethingto maintain appearances. But he hadn’t.
I exhaled through my nose, clenching my jaw as I leaned back in my chair. Gianni beefing up security wasn’t surprising, but him not fucking with the Reeds? That was suspect as hell. He was moving like he had something to hide, or worse… like he was trying to get ahead of whatever was coming.
“Has Gianni reached out to you or Mrs. Antoinette at all,” I asked, just wanting to confirm what I already knew. “
Bash balled his fists, shaking his head. “Nah, he’s been duckin’. I’m a roll up on his old ass though.”
“And what is it that you know about Isabella?”
Bash ran a hand over his face not masking the pure look of disgust when he scoffed. “The bitch was here. Days before the wedding.”
“I know.”
He looked at me with raised eyebrows, taken aback. “You knew she was here and didn’t say anything?” His eyes squinted, and I already knew he was on the verge of crashingout.
“You don’t think that’s something you lead with,” his tone was flat, but he was shaking his head like he was trying to keep his temper in check.
“Just found out. Calm your crazy ass down.” I deadpanned. “Why you think we are in Atlanta? She ain’t been in New York for a week. I had Keem track her last known location, and guess where her name popped up?Atlanta. She paid some no-name security off-the-books. A payout was made aday before the wedding, covered by a shell company tied to one of her legitimate businesses.” I dragged a hand down my face.
“Sophia just confirmed it this morning. She traced all the money to one shell company back to an offshore account under the name ‘Bel V. Esmond’, one of Isabella’s aliases. That account has been funding the Moccasin operation for over a year. $50k weekly payments to three different shell companies. Roland’s stopped after I handled him, but the other two kept running.”
Bash’s jaw ticked. “So, she’s the money.”
“Yeah. The Moccasins provided the muscle. They had the men she didn’t. And she provided the contacts. Explains how Roland got access to Wes in the Bronx.”
“What you mean?”
“That nigga ain’t family. Neither one of them. Wes just pays his dues to operate in the Bronx. He normally don’t fuck with corner boys but Isabella vouched for him using her family name. Nobody questioned it. “
